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Before Obama Retreat on Ozone, EPA Chief Feared Illnesses and Deaths

"When President Obama retreated from a tougher stance on smog last month, his Environmental Protection Agency chief had formally concluded that the existing standard endangered thousands of Americans, including children and people with respiratory ailments."

"The Bush-era limit on ozone was 'not adequate to protect public health,'and failed to take into account 'newly available evidence,' EPA administrator Lisa Jackson concluded, according to recently released documents detailing the agency’s justification for a tougher standard.

Jackson, whose son has severe asthma, has been a passionate advocate for a stricter rule. She grew convinced the agency could save thousands of lives each year if Washington imposed a 70 parts per billion limit on smog-causing ozone.

That standard was the least stringent and inexpensive option recommended by an independent EPA advisory panel of scientists."